Archives

Have they lied to you before?

George Orwell: Politics and the English Language (1946)

Political language …is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

Recently, I participated with Dermod Travis of Integrity BC and others in a Twitter exchange about British Columbia’s provincial debt.

To most of us, particularly when we sit before an inquiring banker, the concept of personal indebtedness is uncomplicated. However, when a BC Liberal speaks of debt, refer to George Orwell’s statement shown above.

The Auditor General adds taxpayer-supported debt and self-supported debt and the total is called Total Provincial Debt. In addition, the A-G reports “the minimum amounts required to satisfy the contractual obligations, for contractual obligations that are greater than $50 million, by sector, by year.” The amounts are for multiyear contracts for services and construction of assets.

British Columbia’s public accounts only began reporting contractual obligation in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, which is about when government became serious about financing projects through public-private partnerships and BC Hydro was signing massive IPP contracts.

Proving Orwell correct, Christy Clark’s team talks not about a massive growth in public debt and debt-like obligations, it says what it did in the Throne Speech on February 14:

…your government is on track to be free of any operating debt by 2021. For the first time in 40 years, children born that year will no longer be asked to pay for the burdens that our generation has placed upon them…

I won’t bore readers with an accountant’s discussion of what is and what is not debt but I will present two charts, created from information disclosed by the Auditor General and with estimates for fiscal years 2017-2019 from the province’s most recent Budget and Fiscal Plan.

First, the balanced budget is a mathematical trick. DIY by forming a compsny and have it own your house and car so it’s responsible for your mortgage and car payments and presto! You have a balanced budget! Now, try and whizz that one past your banker! The government simply does the same with Hydro and other big losers but because rhey’re a government their bank doesn’t care.

Re charges – i’m a little rusty on this but i don’t think you can lay a private charge any more but you can start with a # of people petitioning the AG in the ordinaty way and at least get her in the game. i’m wracking my brain to find a way to sue her civilly but BAKER, i’m going to suggest that with this we ask for a current barrister to advise us. I haven’t practiced for over 40 years!

Just heard CBC’s political panel with the Liberals bragging about BC’s so-called “strong” economy and no operating debt.

What a load of crap. We don’t have a strong economy, we have a real estate bubble economy which is pricing our kids and grandkids out of the province. A real estate bubble economy with affordable rents disappearing. A real estate bubble economy taking farmland out of production.

And our provincial debt has skyrocketed around the Liberals, BC Hydro is teetering on bankruptcy.

O-T-R, You obviously weren’t listening to the ‘facts’. That your ‘opinion’, or shall we say ‘alternate fact’ does not align with those of the BC Liberal party is of no consequence. Just read the message on the bus: “Debt free BC”

California has found a reason to stop building electric power plants. They are teaching consumers how to conserve. Something that the BC Liberals will never do.

“Overall, the cost of these schemes averages out to $0.028 for every kilowatt hour saved—just over a quarter of the cost of the electricity itself. And that’s going off the price of electricity generated by existing plants.

Apart from sparing utility companies from having to invest in new infrastructure, these efficiency programs also save consumers money. In California, $12 billion was lopped off utility bills from 2003 to 2013 thanks to ramped-up energy saving programs.”

Christy is handing out bribes knowing it is her final term as premier. It’s “Christy’s leap-year Christmas” falling on May 9th of this year.

The taxpayer’s credit card is “maxed” and the books, manipulated. BC Hydro’s debt for the Site C Dam is a land mine waiting for the next occupants of the house.

The mean-spirited cutbacks are now referred to as “givebacks”. The spending pledges are as empty as a “politician’s promise” in a brothel. A pathetically sad, empty gesture.

She is the master of deception. There is no surplus, except for electrical power that is being sold at a fraction of the cost of production.

It’s an embarrassing performance of “Budget Pimping” where the premier dresses as Santa’s Helper.

Christy Clark claims five balanced budgets yet she is responsible for doubling BC’s debt. The addition of the Hydro contract obligations takes BC’s debt to $150 Billion. This is not fiscal responsibility – just cooked books with no happy ending.

Wasting money on destructive energy projects makes zero sense when there are better alternatives. British Columbia is spending billions on Site C. It could suspend the project today and have less harmful and cheaper sources of clean power operational by the time more electricity is needed.

As is typical of resource management, the regulating ministry sees its prime purpose is to enhance growth and profitability of companies extracting resources. the public share of produced values is no longer material. This cozy relationship costs taxpayers billions of dollars, money that could be spent on renewable energy, transit, daycare, education or many […]

Canada’s Conservatives are committed to the Republican Party value of opposing voter fraud, if someone else is doing it. Like their American mentors, HarperCons protest electoral manipulations even more strongly when no one is doing it. Bill C-76 amends the Canada Elections Act to establish spending limits for third parties and political parties before of a […]

Freelance reporter Bob Mackin wrote that BC’s Legislature was a scandal waiting to happen and he quoted journalism professor and former Legislative reporter Sean Holman about the significant potential for abuse. Mackin blames excessive secrecy and lack of transparency...

BC Hydro's quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2018 shows the utility is very good at some things. Specifically, borrowing and spending money. In the thirteen years from 2005, assets employed to service BC consumers have almost tripled in value. Trouble is, actual sales to residential, commercial and industrial consumers are less in 2018 […]

The case is clear. British Columbia's Government decided to reduce the public share of natural gas revenues to almost nothing. This is despite substantial growth in the quantities of natural gas being extracted.

Perhaps an even more vile set of falsehoods is BC Hydro's continuing claims that demand for electricity by its BC consumers has been growing steadily. That has led to excessive capital spending that measures in the billions.

Check out the fine work on electoral reform by Merv Adey 2018 fellowship recipient Andrew Seal. It’s a fabulous five part series published by The Tyee. We’d like to raise additional funds to initiate the next fellowship. You can be sure it will support a comprehensive examination of a subject important to all British Columbians.